Bible in the Middle Ages 95121215 Claire Wu

Bible in the Middle Ages 95121215 Claire Wu 95121201 Alex Li 95121216 Leah 95121219 Nelson 95121245 Serena

Background of Middle Ages n Falling and Rising Empires The Medieval Period began with the fall of the Roman Empire in the West. In 410, Rome was conquered. In 476, the Western Emperor was deposed by a Gothic King. n Crusades and Other Wars War and conflict pervaded this one thousand year era. The West suffered several invasions from Islamic peoples and the Scandinavians. For a brief time, during the rule of Charlemagne, the West experienced some stability.

Middle Age Bible Form n n Handwritten Written on parchment (late Middle Ages: Paper ) n Illuminated manuscript (Narrow sense: manuscripts decorated with gold or silver Broader sense: decorative or illustrated manuscript) n n Decorated with miniature illustrations Decorated initial

Bible Sanctified Cause: n Extremely rare n Written in Latin n Only available to minister or some nobilities. Result: n Bibles were sanctified. (Unlike modern prospective: Words of Truth) n The Knowledge of Bible context were interpretation from the preachers. (Common people lack of own prospective towards the Bible)

Bible translations in the Middle Ages The need of translation resulted from the expansion of the Church. n The Latin Vulgate n Translations were relatively rare. n

Early medieval vernacular translations Gothic Bible n Poetic and pictorial works n Historical works →Bible Historiale n

Late Middle Ages Urbanization of the twelfth-century and increased literacy among educated urban populations. n German, Czech, Spanish, Catalan Hungarian, Lithuanian , French, Italian n

Mystery Play n A type of play in middle ages which was based on events in the Bible or the lives of the Christian saints n Ex. “The Second Shepherd’s Play” is combined with non-biblical story and real bible story

The Second Shepherd’s Play (a) The non-biblical story 1. Mak steals a sheep from three shepherds. 2. He and his wife pretend the sheep is their son. 3. The shepherds are fooled at first but later discover his trick. 4. They toss Mak on a blanket as a punishment. (b) Bible story 5. The shepherds are told of the birth of Christ by an angel, and being told to go to Bethlehem, where they offer gifts to the Christ child.